agency that insures your mortgage is running dangerously low on cash. what does that mean for you. real estate mogul is our guest this hour. melissa: the mid- east on edge. launching a rocket into israel from the gaza strip. time for stocks now as we do every 15 in its. nicole petallides is standing by. nicole: there is so much to watch. you will see our reporter. he was wearing a helmet. oil is on the rise. we are watching the fiscal cliff so closely. everyone has heard about this. they will be working together. it is sort of saying this silver

lining is in sight and that gave us a boost here on wall street. 12,471. our heart of the day was 12,602. not far off from yesterday's. you are seeing some financials here. they are trying to move along. jpmorgan was in the red earlier today. bank of america. some of the financials are still in the red. citigroup, goldman sachs, case-by-case. it is not a blanket of of arrows across the board. it still remains. it is something they have to contend with sooner than later. melissa: breaking news right now. the fire is now out at the offshore oil platform. that is in the gulf of mexico. there was an explosion just after 9:00 a.m. eastern. it was about 20 miles off the coast of louisiana. at this time, the coast guard, look at that, the coast guard

cannot confirm any deaths. two people are missing and nine people have been flown to local hospitals. we will bring you the very latest just as soon as we learn it. lori: bp is so fresh in everyone's memory still. president obama meeting with congressional leaders. it is all we are talking about these days. the fiscal cliff. rich edson joins us from the white house now. rich: they are not offering very many specifics this early on. we do have a ways to go. john boehner did offer framework. the framework would have tax and entitlement targets, revenue targets, spending targets, that this year in the next couple months. congress would work out the details in 2013. both leaders from both parties and both houses say it is time to get to work. >> we will continue to have revenue on the table.

we are serious. we are serious about cutting spending and solving our fiscal problems. >> we will do it now. we feel very comfortable with each other. this is not something we will wait until the last day of december to get it done. rich: they met for a little longer than an hour here at the white house. much of the talk was positive. there really is not anything close to specifics right now coming from anyone in all of this. here he read and nancy pelosi really did not mention entitlement at all. rich o'connell highlighted the fact that his conference in the senate believes that this country does not have a taxing problem, it has a spending problem. there are still two very different beliefs on how to address this problem as they move forward.

staff will continue working as the president is out of the country. he goes to a show tomorrow. telegraphs and republicans will be back here after the thanksgiving recess. lori: thank you. melissa: will a deal actually get done. joining us now is juan williams. thank you for joining us. what is your pet on this? what do you think that i think there is a lot of political pressure on both sides right now. remember, from the democratic perspective, they think they need a deal and president obama thinks he has a legacy that he has to protect right now. have watched as democrats have picked up seats in the senate and the house and president obama has been reelected. they do not want to be seen as obstacles to a deal that pushes the economy into a better place. both sides have some political

reason to do business right now. in the short term, there will be some kind of bridge. lori: speaking of that bridge in the republican, we did hear from john boehner once today. revenue has to be part of this deal. that is -- what do you mean that means? >> i think what it means is they have been talking about raising taxes on people making more than 250,000 were certainly more thhn 1 million. the billion landmark is acceptable. what really will go on is democrats will insist on more than $250,000. republicans may lower their estimates for people who are billionaires for people who make half a million.

melissa: to think we will see any real spending cuts, though? >> oh, absolutely. if you go back to simpson bowles, if you talk about democrats, people and harry reid's office, they do not have any reluctance about cuts. the question is where the cuts take place and whether or not republicans are willing to put some money on the table. what we have heard over the last few days, actually, yes, but we just want to make sure that the rates do not go to height and secondly we want to be sure that when you talk about increases in tax rates, again, you are talking about people who are either billionaires or close to billionaires. lori: i want to talk to you about the entitlements. there was no mention of that today in the negotiations. >> i was not inside the room.

i do not think that is what was discussed today anyway. what you are hearing in large part is directed towards the big spending items here. if you look at the entitlement spending in the united states, you are looking at medicare and medicaid in specifics. it has just been politically and scalable for democrats up to this point. if they can get the gop to put some revenue on the table, they can talk about this concept. melissa: thank you so much for coming on. >> you're welcome. have a great weekend. lori: tensions rising in the middle east. we are checking in on how it is all playing out in the commodities. next. melissa: and more about twinkies. hostess brands closing up shop.

can you believe it. that is coming up next. ♪ having you ship my gifts couldn't be easier.

well, having a ton of locations doesn't hurt. and my daughter loves the santa. oh, ah sir. that is a customer. let's not tell mom. [ male announcer ] break from the holiday stress. fedex office.

seven we have been telling you about the escalating conflict in the middle east and impacting crude oil.

phil flynn of price futures group is standing by. >> they are running for cover. seriously, this is how serious they are taking this situation. you can see it quite clearly if you look at the spread. that thing has been on fire all week. in every headline that comes by, the more disturbing they are, the more dangerous it is for traders into the weekend. traders are very nervous about this. not just about the gaza strip. they are worried this will expand throughout the region. they are looking at other places where there are protests and concerns. that is the biggest concern for oil traders. it makes it very dangerous short play. melissa: the pictures are really staggering. >> it is one thing after another, alyssa.

all of a sudden we get this year he explosion. people cannot believe this. people that were fine the brent crude spread had to reverse. it went negative on the day. when traders saw that it was a shallow water platform, that we sell the risk of flight coming right back on. melissa: thank you so much. we appreciate that. lori: you just heard them discussing the middle east. the second day of complex. the prime minister saying he is prepared to take whatever action is necessary as israel calls 16,000 troops. we have a reporter near the gaza strip. we are thrilled to have them with us right now. >> just in the past couple of minutes, literally, we have

received word that it is no longer 16,000, but now upwards of 60,000 reserves. the israeli army is getting ready. they are getting ready for a ground invasion of the gaza strip. it is a little bit eerie at night. you see the flashes behind me. the rockets had. you see the trails heading into southern israel where more than 1 million people live. yesterday we were out and about at the rockets fell. with so much talk of the iron dome intercepting missiles, it does not work this close to the gaza strip. you see what it did to the whole barbecue area. to give you an idea of what it would have done to the person, this is the wall of the house. you can see where the shop

embedded itself. >> we were just inside of the house drinking coffee. >> had you been outside, this would have been inside you. >> yes. >> ten seconds. that is it. life or death. we are only four or 500 yards from the border. we have seen a number of them driving down. the giant merck about tanks. you see all the roads and trees there where they are these in. the trees are giving them a little bit of cover so they can stage these weapons. at night it is even hear your here. you just need the explosions. you cannot get a sense of where everything is coming at you.

we have had a number of incoming rounds here. egypt has talk about things. right now it appears as though we are heading towards an inevitable ground invasion. talk to you. lori: stay safe. thank you. let's check the markets. a lot of geopolitics. i note you are looking specifically at dell and hewlett-packard. nicole: we will transition right over to technology from now. those are some disturbing pictures. the tensions remained high of fraud. we are watching some of these tech stocks. names like dell and also hewlett-packard. here is a look at dell right now. it is down about 7%. dell cannot with numbers. the quarterly profit was nearly in half. once again, another quarter citing weak pc demand.

there is no secret, it continues to be serious problems. that is not good news there. you have them all cutting their price targets. that, by the way, is a new low. february 09 lows today. lori: thank you. melissa: the fiscal cliff talks have been prompt and not much circumstance. lori: warning for college students in particular and their parents. we will tell you about that just ahead. ♪

lookinfor a better place to put your cash? here's one you may not have ought of -- fidelity. now you don't have to go to a bank to get the things you want from a bank, like no-fee atms, all over the world. free checkwriting and mobile deposits. now depositing a check is as easy as taking a picture. free online bill payments. a highly acclaimed credit card with 2% cash back into your fidelity account. open a fidelity cash management account today and discover another reason serious investors are choosing fidelity. he's going to apply testosterone to his underarm. axiron, the only underarm treatment for low t, can restore testosterone levels back to normal in most men. axiron is not for use in women or anyone younger than 18.

axiron canransfer to others through direct contact. women, especially those who are or who may become pregnant, and children should avoid contact where axiron is applied as unexpected signs of puberty in children or changes in body hair or increased acne in women may occur. report these signs and symptoms to your doctor if they occur. tell your doctor about all medical conditions and medications. do not use if you have prostate or breast cancer. serious side effects could include increased risk of prostate cancer; worsening prostate symptoms; decreased sperm count; ankle, feet, or body swelling; enlarged or painful breasts; problems breathing while sleeping; and blood clots in the legs. common side effects include skin redness or irritation where applied, increased red blood cell count, headache, diarrhea, vomiting, and increase in psa. see your doctor, and for a 30-day free trial, go to axon.com.

>> @21 minutes past the hour i have your fox news minute.

the coast guard said the fire on the energy platform is out after it exploded in the gulf of mexico today. twenty-eight people were on board the rig. two are reported dead and another for injured. two more unaccounted for. no oil is believed to be leaking into the goal. former cia director david petraeus met with the house this morning taking questions on the deadly u.s. consulate attack in libya. we are learning he briefly addressed his affair all paula paula broadwell in his opening comments, but the two matters surrounding benghazi. air raids had sirens ringing in tel aviv. israel continuing its attacks on militant targets in gaza as israeli troops and tanks are masking the border of gaza signaling an invasion could be

imminent. those are your headlines. back to lori and melissa. melissa: thank you so much. towards the end of an era as hostess asked for permission to close its operations for good. forever ending the likes of twinkies and wonder bread. joining us from the home of twinkies and illinois. it is a sad day. what a sad day. i love twinkies. >> a lot of people realize that they love twinkies. it is that for the consumers and the workers. some put in 30 years at this company. they have been talking about making millions of little snack cakes, but the company was taking too much from them. they were trying to lower their wages and take more and insurance contributions. the remaining workers who are inside now are cleaning out their desks and leaving the plant and atmosphere inside is

said to be pretty bad. as hostess announced it would suspend operations at 33 plants across the country at 6:00 o'clock this morning, this plant continued to run line. they were taken in and out by school bus. they have 565 distribution centers. the twinkies was born right here in schiller park in 1930. hostess said this is what brought the company down. i am holding one of the last boxes of twinkies. this is the last line ttey ran. they said they would continue until noon today, a quick an hour early. 10:57 a.m. the workers are hoping that the hostess brand will survive. live in chicago. back to you, melissa. melissa: thank you so much.

coming up tonight on "money" we will have the ceo of hostess. he will talk about the liquidation and closing. that is tonight at 5:00 p.m. eastern. i have a feeling it is not the end. i think they will get the very valuable brand. lori: such a notable brand. it is an icon really. the president intern bowed to increase spending. with the looming fiscal cliff, that promise is now looking empty. we have a senior writer at smart money.com joining us now. young people, students, far worse, are really standing to lose some serious benefits here if we do go over the fiscal cliff. >> if they do go into effect, they are at risk.

about an 8% cut in federal financial rate. we are talking about anything from pell grants, as well as, the federal loans that students get. did we have to tax credits. many families rely on the american opportunity tax credit. it has been giving up to 25 -- that is expected to scale back to about $1900. it is a pretty big cut there. one that is directly tied to the fiscal cliff. melissa: in the long term, it seems like it may actually bring the price of college down if there was less money out there. a lot of people think that is what drives prices up. in the short term, it would be a difficult adjustment. >> we will not see tuition prices drop at least drastically

anytime soon. that means for families, they will have to look for other ways to make up the gap between the aid they receive in the college costs they have to pay. longer term, there is a growing debate out there that the more money the federal government gives out, free money or loans, all that is doing is pushing up the price of college tuition. lori: and increasing the debt burden of these young borrowers. there is no way to get out of it. it prevents their quality of life. it is one of the big down drags on the overall economy. >> i think it also points to the fact that families will have to take a lot more initiative here in terms of figuring out, okay, how much are we willing to spend on college education. his private college worth it? public is cheaper.

lori: we have breaking news so we will leave it there. melissa: we are ggtting word that that sec has officially announced its settlement with jpmorgan. fox business charlie gasparino reported first this morning that this would come today and write a route over offering residential mortgage backed securities by jpmorgan. $297 million. lori: i think jamie dimon has that in his desk. the top drawer. we are showing you shares of jpmorgan. melissa: taxpayers have ponied up $140 quadrillion. what is another 13 billion or so to keep a critical government housing agency running? lori: it just goes to show how many bad loans are still out there. real estate mogul joins us next.

♪

lori: dow up about 23 points. let's see what is driving the stock market. for that we head down to the new york stock exchange with nicole petallides. a decent day for officemax. >> interesting day here for officemax indeed on a day where staples is lower and office depot lower, not officemax. take a look what this stock is doing here, melissa and lori. this is all because of over 20% stake they have in boise cascade. boise cascade is a wood products company which they established a relationship

back since 2004. you're talking paper and forest products. with boise cascade filing for initial public offerings. that means officemax has whole new way of revenue to generate or sell shares. there is so much potential. the stock is up 17% right now. back to you. lori: nicole, thank you so much for that. now the fha is looking at at a $16 billion loss. don't forget taxpayers came to the rescue of fannie and freddie. will taxpayers have to rescue the fha now? peter barnes is in washington to update us. >> lori, annual audit released today found the fha which insurance $1.1 trillion mortgages with very lowdown payments has a $16.3 billion capital short fall because of mortgages going bad. >> one out of every six loans are delinquent. they have 17% delinquency rate on 7 1/2 million loans.

those are the facts. congress has to do something to address this. they can't let this go on. there will be a bailout, the longer it goes on the greater likelihood of a bailout. >> the fha is downplaying the possibility today. it expects to add $11 billion in new capital from new business in the year ahead. it also announced a slight increase in fees today and some other new steps to improve its finances. it hopes all of this will put its capital position back in the black within the year. that the agency said should reduce the likelihood that it will need to tap its credit line with the treasury. officials say they won't make any announcement about that until the president releases his 2014 budget in february. lori? lori: all this as the housing market starting to show signs of life. peter barnes, thank you. >> for more on the impact of this likely taxpayer bailout we're joined by real estate goddess, veteran barbara corcoran. thanks so much for joining us. >> my pleasure. melissa: this is very

serious issue. we're talking about the fha doesn't make loans but insures them so others will do it. it is very important but does it need to exist do you think as a government entity? is this something you think can be done rightly. >> it can be done privately but nobody will get in the game. you have to remember who they are insuring? they are insuring first-time home buyers, more than 50% of the their trade and people with high-risk loans. people that don't have great credit. who wants to get in the game? no one. melissa: at a price they would. at a price anything can get done. >> they have tried to do it at a price. they raised premiums. weren't supposed to have the short fall. they raised short preems yums and they have the short fall. we will bail them out like we bail them out. as fine as predictions the deadline, forget about it, there will short fall and there will be a bailout. lori: will there be ripple effect?

fha helping first-time home buyers. will it affect the entire housing market. >> it is more bad news. the word bailout and housing together is bad news. fortunately the housing market has done very well. we really turned corner. when you look at people in need getting their hands on the first loan this hits that spot. that is important spot. lori: will it be more difficult to get a mortgage at least at a decent down payment? >> you only need 3 1/2%. melissa: that is the problem. i was going to bring that up that is the problem. that is what is so frustrating at about this story and everybody was raising down payment and put 25% to get a enlo, fha were backing loans only.5% down. does that make sense? >> can i tell you easy to say it doesn't make sense why not let people get more capital to buy the first home. melissa: or rent. >> certainly a lot of rents but they're going up. there is a lot cheap real

estate available. this is one-time opportunity for folks to buy a house at really reduced price. by buying the house they're helping the housing market. they're taking that house out of foreclosure and have a family live there. melissa: unless they don't make the payment and goes into foreclosure again. i am. >> going up with those loans still. i shouldn't say that the foreclosure rate is not going up but delinquent more than 90-days due that is going up. that is very scary for the future. melissa: barbara corcoran, always fantastic. thanks so much for coming on. lori: historically the year after presidential election investors see a nice pop for stocks. melissa: a week or so after the election seems like it has been nothing but downhill. where will the market be at year's end? we'll take a look at the ten year and 30-year as we head out to break. the yield on the 10-year falling one basis point. 30-year is flat on the day. we'll be right back. [ male announcer ] this is joe woods' first day of work.

and his new boss told him twongs -- cook what you love, and save your money. joe doesn't know it yet, but he'll wk his way up from busser to wair to chef before opening a restaurant specializing in fish and me from the great northwest. he'll start investing early, he'll find some good people to help guide him, nd he'll set money aside from his first day of work to his last, which isn't rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade. but when i was in an accident... i was worried the health care system

spoke a language all its own with unitedhealthcare, i got help that fit my life. so i never missed a beat. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. i'm robert gray with your fox business brief. house speaker john boehner said he had constructive talks speaking with president obama averting fiscal cliff on looming spending cuts and tax hikes. the dow is up 16 points. well they just did it. nike sold its upscale colhamn firm to apex partners. the price tag? $579 million.

they are focusing on its namesake label and converse and hurley brand. they sold the deal to apex is expected to close early next year. yum! brands boosted its stock buyback program up to one billion dollars. yum brand declared a quarterly dividend of 33 cents a share. that's the latest from the fox business network, giving you the power to prosper.

melissa: stocks eking out gains today but since the presidential election both the dow and s&p 500 have fallen more than 5%. so where will we be by year's end? the head of equities for nuveen asset management joins us with his take. and, david, seems pretty straightforward to me, if you raise tax on capital gains people will buy less stocks.

so everybody will sell out and cash out and realize their gains before the end of the year. seems like the market is just going down. do you think i'm right or wrong? >> you know i think, melissa, it really depends on the outcome of the fiscal cliff. if we don't get a compromise by year-end i think the market continues down. if we get a compromise i think there is good upside to the market. melissa: why? if we get compromise including raising the tax on capital gains and dividends people will get out of the market now? >> two reasons why we are bullish on the market looking forward assuming we don't fall off the fiscal cliff --. melissa: okay. >> one is the u.s. economy and china. economic data is coming in better than expected. here in the u.s. it is driven by the consumer. housing is better. employment is slow but it is better and consumer confidence is at a five-year high. if you look at the chinese data it certainly looks like their economy is stablizing that is good news. the second reason we do like the market is valuation. this kind of gets to your question. on forward-looking basis,

s&p 500 sells at about 12 1/2 times earnings. it is only sold below that twice in the past 20 years and that was the summer of 2011 after we had our failed budget deficit negotiations and the reduction in our credit rating, and also in 2008 when we were kind of hitting the great recession, mini depression. melissa: i don't know how you can be optimistic about the u.s. economy. i mean it seems like it is growing very slowly if at all? >> yes, it is growing very slowly but what the market will respond to is changes in it. so we saw second quarter gdp came in at 1.3%. third quarter came in at 2%. that is probably revised higher because of better trade numbers. fourth quarter is going to be impacted by hurricane sandy but we should get that back in the first quarter. so again the further you get away from potentially going into another recession, that is going to be good for the markets. certainly if growth slows and teetering around --.

melissa: if you look even just the earnings season we got through was horrendous and the guidance was terrible. why do you think, for example, that our next earnings season isn't going to be terrell? >> well you know the fourth quarter is going to be bad. it will be bad primarily because of the fiscal cliff. companies aren't spending but consumers are. if we get through the fiscal cliff, if we do get a compromise, that's a big if, 2013 should be better and we do expect earnings to grow in 2013, mid single-digit rate. melissa: david, are you doing anything to hedge your bet? you're awfully optimistic. i would love to be as positive as you are but it is hard to do it. is there anything to do to hedge yourself in case you're wrong? >> our favorite strategies in this market are dividend paying strategies. so that is a hedge. those strategies are typically lower volatility, so less risk. you get current income from them. and dividend payout ratio is 28, 29% for the s&p 500

which is about 140-year low. we think there is room to grow there. as long as the taxes don't go back to ordinary income tax rates for dividend payers. melissa: good luck with that. david, thanks so much. >> thank you, melissa. lori: at a quarter of, let's check the markets with nicole on the floor of the new york stock exchange. not a sweet day, ah-ha, for jm smucker. >> everybody knows smucker. peanut butter and jelly and they have all kinds of jams and jellies. they also have folgers under their umbrella. the good news they came out with numbers here. they raised the full-year forecast. second quarter net profit is on the rise of 17%. and commodity costs have dropped some. that is the good news the bad news, while you see this stock is down 2%, they face intense competition in all of this area. jellies jams, et cetera. they say that they may actually have to lower some of the prices which cuts

their margin. how do you lower prices is not a good thing in order to stay competitive. here is a look at smuckers one-year chart. today down $1.79. back to you. lori: thank you, nic. the euro stronger than the dollar??3 yeah, you heard right. our next guest says the u.s. is printing more money than europe so that is no path to sustainability. more dollars, weaker dollar, that is inflation for you. not the same story in europe even though they're in bad shape. we're back after this. [ male announcer ] you are a business pro.

governor of getting it done. you know how to dance... with a deadline. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle... and go. you can even take a full-size or above, and still pay the mid-size price. this is awesome. [ male announcer ] yes, it is, business pro. yes, it is. go national. go like a pro.

melissa: stocks getting a midday rebound a little bit. with the nasdaq already in correction territory, dow and s&p next we have the story in today's trade. we'll talk about it ourselves. >> cue me on the floor because i don't have my ifb for this one. take a look at this, guys. this is a trillion troublesome. you look at s&p 500, we have multiple, 27 stocks hitting 52-week lows. i got them up on the board with one exception in the green. i put up a one-year chart. hormel, which is considered a defensive play. this company makes spam, for gosh sakes and dinty moore beef stew hitting a 52-week high. with that the rest of the big names, mcdonald's hitting 52-week lows. give you example of chart we're looking at. jcpenney, bed, bath & beyond, a bunch retailers hitting

fifth hose. as well as -- 52-week lows. as well as technology stocks. nasdaq already in correction mode. correction defined by drop of 10% from its 52-week high. here you have a precipitous fall in the nasdaq. it is down below that 10% mark. you consider that already in. hear is the number to watch looking at the dow, a drop below 12,249. we're down 7% from its highs. that is the number. i will leave you with the s&p 500, the number to watch there, 1319. it is currently at 1356. melissa, lori, important points to point out. nasdaq already there. s&p and dow nearing those levels and lots of 52-week lows today. despite the turnaround in the markets. melissa: sandra smith, thanks so much. lori: my next guest thinks no matter what the outcome

on the fiscal cliff no scenario gets us on a path to sustainability. joining me today, axle merck, chief investment officer with more where you should look to invest in this climate. welcome back to the show. why so pessimistic? >> if you think about it, let's go over the cliff. we'll still have a deficit before factoring in any slow down of 3%. on top that we won't fix entitlement reform. that is european style austerity. as we know from europe it doesn't work so well. the key difference the bond market is giving us a free pass. lori: right. >> the other key difference in europe we don't have a current account deficit. when the bond market axe the up in europe, the bond doesn't suffer. the u.s. we think only time we'll engage in true entitlement reform what we need to get the budget to be sustainable, it is when we get the, quote, unquote unkoirgement by the bond marked --. lori: let me about you to,

ask you about maybe bond vigilantes stepping? would we have a red is over reach? should we get more of a message to do something more to your theory than just get a fiscal cliff deal to get some real sustainability? >> we are like a frog in a boiling pot. we feel very cozy around here but think about it. we don't need the chinese to sell more treasurys. they reduced their holdings over the last year by the way. we need the bond market to return to more normal times. historically the bond market is volatile beast. everybody thinks you can chase yields and get good returns of the be careful, you might get some volatility. at some point, we saw it in the springtime, the bond market selling off 10% in matter of a few weeks. if we get volatility back we could see a sharp plunge. at that stage the bond markets turns into bear market and foreigners that love to buy u.s. bonds would take a step back which has very negative implication for the dollar. lori: do you think it is a situation of reducing the

supply of treasurys on the market? would that help? >> of course. that means living within your means. that would of course help. the thing it is so easy to spend the money and with bernanke helping it with a printing press, we have this easy way out. that is the path we're going to continue. we'll tweak at the margin and yes everybody will be upset. we'll maybe live for another day. but the problem is, that we could not, we could not afford interest rates at 40% or higher. because our deficits would just blow out. lori: you must like the euro better than the dollar right now? feel -- sorry to interrupt you. trying to get it all in there. >> europeans are on the other side of the bernanke trade. during the great depression as well, u.s. went further away from the gold standard first at problems in europe and stronger currency. same nowadays. i'm not suggest that you buy the greek bonds. euro is stronger than dollar in long run because they're not suffer printing that much money.

they suffer. you're not buying it because of emotion and but because there is value there. lori: value of gold slightly higher today. what do you think of that important investment? how much of a portfolio percentage should gold make up right now? >> well, i personally have substantial part. we hold some in our funds. we have a global debt-to-gdp ratio, if you take in the developed countries over 100%. never happened before in peacetime. i don't hold gold because of yesterday's problems. i have hold gold because i don't think we can get through this without either inflation or with growth. in either scenario, if we have inflation or growth at some point the bond market will sell off. that will make it very difficult to make the budget sustainable. which means bernanke will have to continue to print money. we'll see similar trend in japan and the u.k. with that gold should do very, very well in the years to come. lori: we'll leave it there for today, axle. see you soon. axle merck. >> my pleasure.

melissa: activision scoringing record debut for "call of duty"tae will it calm the fears of future of console gaming? tracy byrnes has the story next on fox business. don't miss it

tracy: happy friday, i'm tracy byrnes. progress on the fiscal cliff believe it or not. both sides expressing confidence they will find a way to avoid tax hikes and spending cuts that could cripple this economy. no winners in the union battle at hostess. the twinkie maker says it can't stay in business if union workers won't agree to pay cuts. now those workers and thousands more could be out of a job. $16 billion in the hole for the federal housing administration. is another bailout on the way and could it hurt your chances getting a mortgage more importantly?

but top of the hour. time for stocks as we do every 15 minutes we head down to nicole petallides on floor of the new york stock exchange. nicole, i find it so interesting the market turned positive after our lawmakers came out and said they had a constructive meeting. >> constructive means nothing is done net. when i walk the floor and ask traders they know both sides, bipartisan, need to come to some sort of agreement. that is something everybody can agree on. that is the one glimpse of hope that they are talking constructivelily as they did today for one hour and 12 minutes that is glimpse of hope that is what everybody is hanging on here for, tracy. it was enough to move us from negative territory into positive territory. the dow is up 35 points now. the another name, dow component, jpmorgan, agreeing to pay $296.9 million in order to settle charges with the sec. this is according to, well,

first of all, we had charlie gasparino saying this first this morning on the fox business network but this is over mortgage-backed securities. obviously that date back to those bear stearns days. back to you. tracy: funny, nicole. like when i have my dinner with my kids and there is no blood, i call that successful and constructive. that is kind of like what happened today. see you in 15 minutes. speaker boehner laying out a framework to help solve the deficit problem and avoid the fiscal cliff while meeting with president obama and of course other congressional leaders this afternoon. rich edson at the white house with the latest. rich, a little kumbayah going on today, huh. >> it is. we don't have that many specifics yet. we're early in the process. house speaker john boehner proposing a fame work. settle revenue targets for tax reform in this process next few months. entitlement saves next few weeks. then you write all the details.

we're missing bulk of details what they could be here. the negotiations just started but we have a very encouraging optimism. >> to show our seriousness, we put revenue on the table as long as it is accompanied by significant spending cuts. >> we have cornerstones to working is out of the we both will have to give up some of the things we know are a problem. >> so we don't have numbers. we don't have specifics. we have the beginning of a conversation and a process but the two sides are still incredibly far apart, very much on philosophy. when democrats came out after the meeting they didn't mention entitlements at all. minority leader mitch mcconnell of u.s. senate said we really don't think we have too much of a taxing problem. we have a spending problem still we are prepared to talk revenues. plenty of details to be filled in here. staff will continue to meet over the thanksgiving week and holiday. these leaders hope to be back here after that week

off next week in congress. back to you. tracy: so they left us dangling with this constructive word and they're not going to be back for a week, basically? >> well, their staff members are working on this president obama heads to asia tomorrow. so he won't be able to meet. staff members will work this out. that is really details of these things get worked out. tracy: yeah. >> principles of the meeting sign off eventually if they are to. tracy: yeah, there's that. like watching a soap opera on friday. now what? >> that's right. tracy: rich edson, you have a great weekend. >> thanks, tracy. you too. tracy: i will hang on the constructive word. all right the markets liking the results of the first round of fiscal cliffs and that operative word, constructive, rebounding after the meeting wrapped up today. is this good news? will this keep the market up or are investors jumping the gun? joining us oppenheimer funds economist. we are in a deeply oversold market. the big question, we were up 29. we were up 39.

certainly not in the mood but can this hold? >> i think it can hold. we're going to see some volatility. we're going to have some good days and bad days now and before christmas until they finalize whatever deal they will finalize. you said it correctly. the market is oversold. there are some good values out there. they told us we're on a path that may work. it will stop working at some point and start working again. we'll be back having the other side of this conversation. tracy: will the market fall further though? it is like i said a little bit of a soap opera. the market could very well be sensitive enough to drop more. if it does do you go in and buy? >> i think a significant dip here is a buying opportunity. we sometimes get so excited about this political stuff that we forget that the stock market doesn't discount your political preferences and mine. stock market discounts earnings. if the last four years taught us anything that during really tough political economic times there are companies that

know how to make a buck. and investors who rode with those companies, that know how to make a buck in tough times have been pretty well rewarded for it. we've got to get beyond thinking the stock market is a, is voting on politics and remember, it is voting on earnings. tracy: it is hard not to. it moves in lockstep lately especially with europe and china. unfortunately there are a lot of other issues that affect the market. >> sure those things, matter, tracy. they matter a lot. they create a environment which we can make or not make money. it is tough for investors. there will be volatile days. the trick for investors to have enough liquidity in their portfolio that they don't have to trade on these volatile down days. they're ready to take some opportunities when, when they find some good earnings. tracy: like what? let's say this market falls further. you go in. you start buying. what are you buying? >> i think we're, we're buying companies with a following characterics. we're buying companies that have strong brands. that have technology that is

hard to replicate and have access to growing markets. the tough part of being an investor, you find companies like that in a lot of sectors and find them with headquarters in a lot of different countries. you want to look for the characterics of companies, not the kind of thing --. tracy: like what? hospitals for instance? >> i can't name. i'm not here to name names. we know that hospitals are are run very efficiently will ben at this time from obamacare. that is, they're well-positioned for that. we know certain insurance companies that can come in with cost savings opportunities. they will benefit from obamacare. so sometimes policy matters. we ought to be looking for those kind of opportunities. tracy: talk quickly about policy. as an economist you do think taxes will go up on the wealthy and you do think dividend cap gains taxes will go up? >> i think they will go up. it is significant. people miss this. the senate democrats last summer passed a propaganda only tax bill that took dividend rates up to 25%.

i don't want to see them go up 25% necessarily. but what democrats told us from digging their feet in, that is where we want to go. so we'll go someplace, deal could always change. that is not as bad as lot of investors are thinking. tracy: a lot of people think it is going -- >> that maybe is not what they're looking for. there are positive signs out there. tracy: maybe compromise is not a dirty word. jerry, oppenheimer funds chief economist. have a good weekend. >> thank you. tracy: there is much more ahead. hostess asking a bankruptcy court for permission to shut down after union workers refused to help keep the company going. plus what would a multibillion-dollar bailout mean for the for hfha mean for the housing market? >> look how oil is trading up $1.37. trading at $86.82 a barrel.

we'll be right back i always wait until the last minute.

can i still ship a gift in time r christmas? yeah, sure you can. great. where's your gift? uh... whew. [ male announcer ] break from the holiday stress. ship fedex express by december 22nd for christmas delivery. you won't just find us online, you'll also find us in person, with dedicated support teams at over 500 branches nationwide. so when you call or visit, you can ask for a name you know. because personal service starts with a real person. [ rodger ] at scottrade, seven dollar trades are just the start. our support teams are nearby,

ready to help. it's no wonder so many investors are saying... [ all ] i'm with scottrade. if you're a man with low testosterone, you should know that axiron is here. the only underarm treatment for low t. at's right, the one you apply to the underarm. axiron is not for use in women or anyone younger than 18. axiron can transfer to others through direct contact. women, especially those who are or who may become pregnant, and children should avoid contact where axiron is applied as uxpected signs of puberty in children or changes in body hair or increased acnen women may occur. report these signs and symptoms to your doctor if they occur. tell your doctor about all medical conditions and medications. do not use if you have prostate or breast cancer. serious side effects could include increased risk of prostate cancer; worsening prostate symptoms; decreased sperm count; ankle, feet, or body swelling; enlarged or painful breasts; problems breathing while sleeping; and blood clots in the legs. common side effects include skin redness or irritation where applied, increased red blood cell count, headache, diarrhea, vomiting, and increase in psa.

see your doctor, anfor a 30-day free trial, go to axiron.com. tracy: it is that time of day. time to make some money with charles payne. he has a stock, actually, this is big household name for us. we love this. >> yeah. tracy: we own it all. >> your kids are big-time in sports. nike. nike is interesting because it got hit this year.

softness in europe. a little bit of a slowdown in china. wall street abandoned the stocks. there was a slew of downgrades on it. this morning we have foot locker with great numbers. earlier in the week we had dicks. you put it together like the risk/reward from evaluation level and sold col-hahn and umbro. didn't need to be in those businesses. focus on what they do best. stock trading at 15 pe. estimates are edging up not rocketing. and the stock from a technical point of view turning up from a double-bottom. i kind of like this. this is one of those stocks too, not a trade but one of these 401(k) stocks. tracy: i watched nike make a comeback in my house. at one point wearing under armour. then the whole lebron thing came back and can't get enough of it. can design your own sneakers. >> funny you say that. when you go to the nike website, first thing is

lebron. they're selling like crazy. you're absolutely right. technical side, a little resistance at 95, 98 but ultimately i think $110 a share for the stock. tracy: really? >> absolutely. tracy: do you buy it now? >> buy it for 401(k) plan. if it picks up momentum and trader might want to look at it. tracy: speaking of trader, what do you think of the market? >> considering how warm and fuzzy everyone was. tracy: and constructive. >> and constructive, we spiked up, not too convincing right now. until we get some sort of a deal. people better remember, it is not just about getting a deal. last year on the debt ceiling we got the deal. announced it july 29th. announced it on august 2nd. market collapsed. not just a deal but the right deal is what the markets are looking for. tracy: it is oversold right now? >> doesn't mean it can't get hammered. bond market is trying to do what, trying to push

washington save the smart decision now and decision. tracy: you're right. we need a smart decision. not just a decision. >> exactly. tracy: charles, happy birthday. a day late. it is quarter after as we do every 15 minutes, we go down to nicole petallides on floor of the new york stock exchange. looking at bunch tech giants, aren't you?. >> look at facebook and apple. one reason we saw nasdaq composite in the red on the green. just barely. not a big move here. and certainly nowhere near the $700 mark in the middle of september but it is, back with an up arrow at 552.92. we heard hedge fund managers getting out. question, a couple of things. number one, everybody knows there will be a lot of apple products on the holiday list. the question is, whether or not that will be enough to keep the markets chugging

along for apple. we had lockup expiration. they are actually going on. new tools to help with mobile ad revenues as well. there is look at facebook. back to you. tracy: not so bad. nicole, see you in 15 minutes, girl. the federal housing administration appears headed for minor $16 billion deficit. will it need a massive taxpayer-funded bailout to boost? we have that next. look how the dollar iser faing as we head out to break. pull back a little bit. dollar down against the euro. canadian dollar as well as the japanese yen. we'll be right back [ male announcer ] this is steve.

he loves risk. but whether he's climbing everest, scuba diving the great barrier reef with sharks, or jumping into the marke he goes with people he trusts, which is why he trades with a company that doesn't nickel and dime im with hidden fees. so he can worry about other things, like what the market is doing and being ready, no matter what happens, which isn't rocket science. it's just common sense, from td ameritrade.

>> at 19 minutes past the hour, i'm arthel neville with your ffx news limit. violence along the israel gaza boarder escalating rapidly. reuters reporting the israeli defense minister asking to mobilize 15,000 troops -- 75,000 troops. they urging gaza to stop the

dangerous escalation. the israeli defense force saying there have been 66 rocket hits on israeli territory today. a new iaea report out on iran offering sobering details. the report claims the iranian regime is ready to increase production of 20% enriched-uranium adding 700 centrifuges at the facility. this leaves the islamic state months away from being able to make the core of a nuclear warhead. the coast guard says the fire on the black. l the f energy platform is out after it exploded on off the coast of louisiana. 11 were airlifted to local hospitals. another two missing. oil leaking from the gulf as a result. those are the headlines. back to tracy. tracy: arthel neville, thank you very much. for the first time in the 78 years it looks like the fha will need help from you the

taxpayer. not just a little help. we're talking billions of dollars, peter barnes in washington with the story we have to say again, liz macdonald pointed out in 2009, peter. >> that's right, liz. that's right, tracy. liz did do that. what are we looking at here? potentially a government, third government bailout of a housing agency, first fannie and freddie. which got $187 billion from the treasury so far. now the fha could need help from the treasury. the agency insures more than a trillion dollars in riskier mortgages with very lowdown payments, mainly for first-time home buyers. an annual audit released today found that the agency has a $16.3 billion capital short fall because of mortgages going bad. >> let's bite the bullet. maybe recapitalize them to the tune of $25 billion if they can earn their way out reasonably, that's fine. but if they can't, the money is there. let's not try to grow their way out of it which is what

they have been doing since 2008. >> but the fha is downplaying the possibility of a bailout, it said it expects to add $11 billion in new capital from the business year ahead. announced a slight increase in fees today and some or the new steps to improve finances. says it hopes all of this will put the capital position back in the black for the year. that the agency says should reduce likelihood it will need to tap its credit line with the treasury, but tracy, get this. officials say they won't make any announcement about that until the president releases his 2014 budget in february. tracy: that puts everybody unease. we have to wait till february to determine whether or not another agency needs our money that is crazy stuff. peter barnes, thank you very much. >> okay, tracy. tracy: for more on all this we're joined by someone who works with builders, and lenders. john burns, ceo of john

burns real estate consulting in irvine, california. john, you heard what peter said the we'll not know until february if this is needed. what does that mean for homeowners in the interim? >> well, actually, he also said we've been reporting on this since 2009. so we have been knowing this is coming for a long time. all the losses actually relate to all the insurance from 2006 to 2009. tracy: right. >> from 2010 on they have been making money and i think the real risk to homebuyers, overreacts and calls it a bailout and stop fha doing what they're doing? they're only high loan-to-value program out there and they're making money. if we stop that, this fragile recovery which you called earlier will no longer be recovery. tracy: that is the thing. they could increase insurance premiums which peter reported they have been doing. the loans they're making now are much better loans than making 2007 and 2008. so the portfolio going forward is okay. do we have to worry about

all the loans they're holding at least 90 days delinquent? >> all the loans are priced into this. they have better data than they were before. the biggest concern if we have any sort of job losses that is when fha is hammered. those are people living paycheck to paycheck. we have to make sure the economy is growing and fha i think will be fine. tracy: you're not concerned it sound like that fha is going to need this bailout in the end? >> i'm concerned if we have a recession. given the book they have been putting on, and they have been raising fees, insurance premiums last several years. tracy: yeah, they have. >> the banks have voluntarily said we're not even going to underwrite fha's most risky evident loans. they're not going down to the risky evident stuff. they're doing okay right now. the big issue is the fiscal cliff and debt crisis. we have to keep the economy growing. tracy: talk about the housing market and all that stuff. the housing market is really trying to show signs of

improvement. all this stuff could set it back. do you worry that it will fall back if the fiscal, if we do go over this fiscal cliff? >> you know, i'm not overly concerned. if you, just step back, we added 1.9 million jobs and only built 800,000 housing units the last year. that is two to one ratio affordability from a payment income standpoint is the best in my lifetime. the resale volume is getting soaked up. a lot of these big guys come in and bought distressed are driving prices up. we're seeing fhfa sold the portfolio and took a write-up on their reo portfolio. the market is definitely recovering. it won't recover if interest rates go way up or if the economy falls. tracy: that's when i guess homeowners start to worry. >> right. tracy: john burns, thanks for being optimistic today. there is lot of pessimism around here. we needed that. >> you bet. anytime. tracy: coming up, a really sad day for an iconic

american brand. hostess closing its doors after a devstating battle with unions. sad day for the workers as well. gerri willis on that story next. first look at some of today's winners and losers as we head out to break. the dow turned negative actually, down two points right now. some winners on s&p, homebuilders, pulte group up almost 3%. an lennar as well, up over 3%. we'll be right back. [ male announcer ] where do you turn for legal matters?

at legalzoom, we've created a better place to handle your leg needs. maybe you have questions about incorporating a business you'd like to start. or questions about protecting your family with a will or living trust. and you'd like to find the right attorney to help guide you along, answer any questions and offer advice. with an "a" rating from the better business bureau legalzoom helps you get personalized and affordable legal protection. in most states, a legal plan attorney is available with every personalized document to answer any questions. get started at legalzoom.com today. and now you're protected.

tracy: we were waving. there we are waving. 30 past the hour. nicole petallides on the floor of the new york stock exchange. we got earnings round up.

we had a busy week. that's right, we sure did? fiof all, the gap which often felt like a dog. dwap gap cart early lost up 60%. same-store sales on the rise. here is look at gap today. if a winner, it was much higher early on that today good numbers for the gap. the quarterly loss, that wasn't good, same-store sales week. right now you can see sears is a down arrow. last but not least, let's take a look at dell. dell comes out with their numbers, by the way cut by securities, their quarterly profit plunged. they saw week pc demands.

this is why the profits plunged 27%. try to talk about revenue growth. back to the '09 levels. tracy: god bless dell shareholders. the pc destruction story has been told for quarters and quarters now. we will see you in 15 minutes, thank you. speaking of tech, tech entrepreneurs are hoping to cash in with new applications for social networking. robert gray joins us. the founder with us. >> if you're looking for the perfect gift, you can now send it from your iphone or other smart phones. buy an app called wrap. thank you for joining us. we should also note you have been around for a while. you claim it is the first one

bought by microsoft, talking about wrapp, the gifts are coming to a head. basically you can give these gifts as gift cards with major retail partners from smart phone to smart phone. you can use their profile basically to use the friends. and it starts with free bucks. even before even putting your own money. how do you convince retailers like the gap, "wall street journal," how did you get the big-name companies to buy on this? >> it is a win-win for the consumer and the retailers. it is a way to get very intimate cash details. >> you get the money when they are redeemed. you're not making money of it is not redeemed. this is basically targeted marketing if you break it down because you are sending it out to folks with the social graph,

so the gap knows are sending it to somebody in the target demo. if you're sending it to mother or father with a family, they make it more than if you send it to a kid or a college student who will send $20 the left. >> that is correct. driving the right sales into their stores in a good way to do that with discounting or to format one or the big sales. it is a way to do the friend to friend borrowing activity. you use the computer as a way to give gift cards to your friends for the holidays. >> you know who is sending it, who is buying it, who is not redeeming it. it is pretty viable data. >> we are not sharing the data with any retailers, it is done for helping them to be able to

offer you to give free gift cards to your friends. the average consumer that comes into stores are good for them. it is a win-win for them. actually give all of your facebook friends the time. tracy: you're getting information from facebook. they are not charging you right now, do you think some point they might charge you to access the social graph data? >> we used a simple facebook connect function shared by most apps today. you can get this from other social graphs as well, but we will focus our service. dennis>> right now i will send k to tracy. thank you. tracy: now that the union battle that appeared to have killed an american company 82 years ago.

hostess acting for permission to shut down other union workers refused concessions. did mean no more twinkies, no more ding dong's. the worst part is the selfishness that is therefore creating a loss of 18,000 jobs. gerri willis is on this story. what are they thinking? >> they're thinking they want their money. if they protest union action. they say at the end of the day we want a different agreement. this is a company that has been in bankruptcy twice. being run by a restructuring ceo and in the press release the union put out, they said you know whose fault it is? mismanagement that ac acted as being run by a wall street firm. i have to tell you, these are 5000 people. what about 18,500 folks will now be without a job.

we ran encapsulation of what that could cost taxpayers because they will undoubtedly g3 on unemployment benefits. nearly $500 million in unemployment benefits over 79 weeks, $300 per week. you have to figure all of them will do it, 20,000 people. this will cost taxpayers a lot of money and the decision was made by a small group of union members at the end of the day. tracy: how can they be happy? 5000 people wanted more and now have absolutely nothing. >> it makes absolutely no sense. you've got to think other employees will be really angry. for that reason alone, forget management, forget how the company was handled, doesn't matter. what about your fellow workers? tracy: unions are on the brink, membership is falling by the second, this will not help their cause. >> it is possible the brands could be resold and made by somebody else, but it will leave a bad taste in your mouth the

next time you have a twinkie, my friend. tracy: the 18,000 people will not go with the brand. >> i do not believe that would happen. you cannot count on that anyway. this is not the kind of industry with big margins and can sustain the kind of demand essentially. tracy: it is selfish, i am sorry. tracy: nobody is disagreeing with you. tracy: gerri willis tonight. what are you talking about? >> we have a great show with the governor of mississippi will be on. we're also talking of course about the fiscal cliff. i will be talking about how much the fiscal cliff will cost you in every tax bracket, so we'll be drilling down on those numbers as we do every night. tracy: i'm going to say it again, selfish. gerri willis, have a good weekend. oil closing up $1.22.

that is a gain of more than 1%. oil's highest close in eight days. which means i will pay more at the pump. activision is "call of duty: black ops" earning huge sales. couldn't calm the fears of the future of the gaming industry? i don't know. that is next. and they look at how the treacheries are trading. your 30-year down one. we will be right back. ♪

[ male announr ] how could a lumins protein in jellyfish, impact life expectancy in the u.s., real estate in hong kong, and the optics industry in germany? at t. rowe price, we understand the connections of a complex, global economy. it's just one reason over 75% of our mutual funds beat their 10-year lipper average. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. request a prospectus or summary prospectus with investment information, risks, fees and expenses to read and consider carefully before investing. ♪ [ male announcer ] they are a glowing example of what it means to be the best. and at this special time of year, they shine even brighter. come to the winter event and get the mercedes-benz ou've always wished for, now for an exceptional price. [ santa ] ho, ho, ho, ho! [ male announcer lease a 2013 glk350 for $399 a month at your local

mercedes-benz dealer. >> i am lori rothman with your fox business brief. some fiscal cliff negotiations. john boehner says he had talks on the looming fiscal cliff. right now the dow was down 20 points. and taking to twitter to announce productions will not be affected by the developments in that nation. the global business will not be affected. coca-cola plans to invest $1.2 billion over the next five years to expand operations facilities. including a new bottling plant that coke says will be the most modern system in latin america and serve as a model for the rest of the world. and that is the latest from the fox business network giving you the power to prosper.

tracy: shares of activision surged more than 4% today. the company said first day sales for the latest call of duty game topped an industry record. what does it mean for video game sales this holiday season. joining us now, analyst of citigroup. the gaming industry has been getting killed lately because they are not coming out with anything that is getting these gamers going. will this do it? the new "call of duty: black ops"? >> there have been a number of issues in the game. first of all under a new council cycle, a lot of people are concerned if you buy games for the current console there may not be able to plan the new

council. based on our check on th a numbr of other retailers, retailers are really concerned when this holiday season about the whole gaming sector in general. i think there are a few shining stars in that the key games, games that resonate well with consumers will continue to sell. today "call of duty: black ops" was no different selling $500 million roughly, it is a positive for the industry. tracy: that is what we are down to. one game. your point about the hardware, everybody is waiting for new hardware to come out. the best thing we got was the nintendo wii-u, everything else has been status quo. >> the nintendo wii-u is a ketchup system, so not a lot of high hopes on that. people are really looking forward to the potential of a new xbox or playstation. also working against a backdrop

increase of mobile and social. under a recent study, 47% of gamers said they are playing more games on their mobile phones and mobile tablets this year than they were last year. there's a lot of concern about the gaming industry right now. tracy: my kids were younger, they can only play on their iphone, whatever they have these days. it is rare my son sits down with his xbox to play madden or whatever he does. we are not seeing that, we are seeing them play on the handheld. speak of the industry will have to come up with something compelling. maybe a cross-platform opportunity where you can play a game under handheld device and transfer it to the big screen. one of the gains it has been a big surprise has been "sky landers." they have been selling like in

buster. it's all about a couple million units. it could be the new billion dollars franchise. there is interest from the younger demographic. they have to get the eight-year-old, 12-year-old range. you will still play on the their mobile phones when you're younger. tracy: your stock pick is activision, is it for that exact reason? >> it is. we have come out with a number of key billion dollars franchises. "guitar hero," cal "call of dut" they don't have to pay big license checks. best in class management team, running the company flawlessly for a number of years. great margin profile. this company has about 30% operating margins. so we are positive on activision right now. tracy: we will take it. but were not for "guitar hero,"

my children would not know bon jovi. have a good weekend. >> thank you. tracy: it is quarter until, stocks every 15 minutes. nicole petallides on the floor. you are smiling because you're a jon bon jovi fan, i know it. nicole: they go from xbox to the playstation to the highlander, forget it, here's a book, try to read. penn national gaming actually hitting multiyear highs, actually above $50 for the first time since 2008 and they say they will split into two companies. they gaming operation and the other is the real estate investment trucks. in light of what we are seeing with this stock up almost 30%. so the other names in the gaming realm, las vegas, this is

something interesting at home. some have been generating revenue by mattel. here's a look at how they're faring today. tracy: we can all pretend we are in vegas a little bit, nicole. luxurthe luxury hotel expandingo shanghai. but it is like to do business in shanghai. and they look at the top winners and losers as we head out to break. dow jones trying to stay positive. your big winner, activision blizzard up over 4%. greenhouse mountain coffee up as well. we will be right back.

tracy: stocks getting a midday rebound, but they kind of sold off now. back up eight points. the nasdaq in correction territory. sandra smith upstairs with today's story in today's "the trade." sandra: the major averages searching for direction after the dramatic selloff over the last week or so since the election. you look at the nasdaq sitting at $28.49, it is already in correction mode, down 10% from the 52-week high. the dow up 11 points, and s&p up two. these are some of the numbers to look for when it comes to whether or not the stock market averages have entered correction mode. dow jones industrial average they 52-week high, 13610. off of the high.

it has a little bit of a ways to go, but analysts say this not a stretch since the technology stock has already led the way. s&p 500 dropping below 1465 today, at about 1365, but if it dropped to 1355. tracy, big names we all know like mcdonald's, best buy, dell, hewlett-packard. some of your biggest laggers in this selloff, something to watch. tracy: we are certainly teetering. sandra smith, thank you very much. properties in thailand, india, new zealand, luxury hotel chain now planning to open several new locations next year including in china. joining us now, so glad you are here because i'm intrigued especially with what is going on in china. why china?

>> china is an emerging market and has large opportunity for spending. followed by the u.s., $70 billion by the end of 2012 china above the u.s. will go to $72 billion. tracy: you have luxury hotels, or their luxury visitors in china? >> luxury of a word that has several different issues. talk about luxury, people take it as expensive. if it is expensive, it is a price tag. if it is an experience, it is a luxury. something you can always afford it, and enjoy it. tracy: your hotels are an experience then. >> yes, it is an experience. our competition are generation

x. so looking at the generation x before the world realized it. tracy: people staying in the hotel of the chinese because they like to entertain and do things like that. are you worried about the euro zone? it is teetering. >> if i'm telling you i'm not, i'm telling you a lie. -- the effects the whole world. always believe they will come out of this and things will settle down. tracy: would ever come to the united states? is it too saturated? >> we may start in the u.s., in the restaurant business. again, for the experience. a different experience.

but right now we are in europe. we are here to see how we can enter the u.s. market. likely next year. >> what is it like in india? are the rich still extremely rich? is there a middle class coming up the ranks? >> there's a new class that has come and that will change the landscape. it is coming out of india, china, and they are spending huge amounts of money. in india the rich people would spend money as in cash, but they are earning the money and spending to create a great stock. tracy: we are charging it.

shares of one natural food maker are looking healthy this year up more than 70%. the chairman and ceo joins liz claman in a fox business exclusive. up 6%, count lori an "countdowne closing bell" is next. don't go anywhere. [ male announcer ] this is steve. he loves risk. but whether he's climbing everest, scuba diving the great barrier reef with sharks, or jumping into the marke he goes with people he trusts, which is why he trades with a company that doesn't nickel and dime him with hidden fees. so he can worry about other things, like what the market is doing and being ready, no matter what happens, which isn't rocket science. it's just common sense, from td ameritrade.

♪ liz: well look at this, we just turned positive. i am liz claman. last hour of trading, this is "countdown to the closing bell." when you connect all the dots, it is the nasdaq today that overall is perhaps the most stunning example of where we are as investors.